Round Tables form the heart of IAC Conferences. The Ethics Round Table provides opportunity for participants, at annual IAC and Sponsoring National Association conferences, to engage in dialogue with counselling ethicists from various countries around the world as they discuss important ethical issues, and tackle culturally-relevant ethical dilemmas. The first ever IAC Round Table on Counselling Ethics entitled International Round Table on Counselling Ethics: ‘Skiting’ and Stressing was organised in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada in May, 2014. In Victoria, Ethics Round Table ethicists from Canada and New Zealand were physically present in the room, while ethicists from the United States of America, The United Kingdom, and Botswana participated by video links. Opportunity was given to participants at the Round Table to ask questions to any of the Ethicists on any ethical issue. The Round Table format for sharing perspectives on ethical issues in counselling across cultures was a huge success, and it will be repeated in Verona, Italy in September 2015. Unlike workshops and other presentations at national conferences, if you are a newcomer to the IAC conferences, you will find that Round Tables present an opportunity for all participants to engage in discussions. The ethics Round Table provides an opportunity for ethical interchanges across cultures.

Below are the current members of the IAC Ethics Round Table. We are currently recruiting other Roundtable members from nations around the world to ensure a diversity of perspectives on what we consider to be the foundation of the counselling profession. If you need more information or would like to be a member of this growing list of international counselling ethicists, please contact Ron Lehr. 

Tim Bond is an Emeritus Professor of the University of Bristol and Adjunct Professor to the University of Malta. His extensive research and publications about professional ethics include Standards and Ethics for Counsellors in Action (Sage Publications). He has a strong interest in how professional ethics and counselling practice take account of cultural differences. He is currently a consultant to the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy on professional ethics and standards, and a member of the Ethics Committee for the British Psychological Society. He was elected as a member of the Executive Council of the International Association for Counselling in 2014. Tim is learning rapidly how to take advantage of the opportunities that the digital age offers for on-line dialogues about ethics, webinars and counselling practice. His interests include for ‘counselling futures’ as a contributor to physical, mental and social wellbeing, ‘trust’ as a point of reference for counselling ethics across cultural differences and within cultures, and ways of listening that enrich human interactions. His passions are his family, bird watching and the natural environment. 

Barbara Herlihy, Chair, Ph.D., is University Research Professor in the Counselor Education Program at the University of New Orleans.  She is the co-author of three current books and numerous book chapters and articles, primarily on the topics of ethics, feminist therapy, and diversity and social justice.  She is a recipient of the Southern Association for Counselor Education & Supervision (SACES) Courtland Lee Social Justice Award, and the ACES Outstanding Mentor Award.  She is a past chair of the ACA Ethics Committee and served on the ACA Code of Ethics Revision Taskforce in 2005.  She chaired the ACA International Committee in 2011-2012.   She has presented seminars and workshops on ethical issues across the country and internationally, most recently in Mexico, Venezuela, and Malta.   

Ron Lehr is a professor of counselling at Acadia University in Wolfville, Nova Scotia. He has been teaching in counsellor education programs for 26 years. His research interests are primarily in counselling ethics, specifically the role of dialogue and discernment in the ethical decision-making process. Ron is Emeritus President of the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association (CCPA); a past president of the CCPA counsellor educators Chapter; and, past chair of the CCPA national ethics committee. In addition to several publications in counselling ethics, Ron is a contributing author to the CCPA Standards of Practice; Co-author of the book Counselling Ethics: Issues and Cases (2006); and, co-author of the upcoming book Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Experiences: Ethics-Based Issues and Cases.

Selebaleng Silver Mmapatsi is the Counselling Psychologist and Deputy Director, under the Careers and Counselling Centre at the University of Botswana. He worked: for the Botswana College of Distance and Open Learning as the Learner Support Coordinator (Guidance and Counseling Services); and, as Principal Education Officer (Guidance and Counselling) under the Department of Curriculum Development and Evaluation, Ministry of Education. He is a member of the Executive Council of the International Association of Counselling, and a member of the Botswana Counselling Association and Southern African Association for Counselling and Development in Higher Education. He is a former Commonwealth Scholar through the Canadian Commonwealth and Fellowship Plan for a master’s degree in Counselling Psychology tenable at the University of British Columbia.  He also completed a psychological assessment program with the Witwatersrand University in South Africa, and currently pursuing an MBA with the University of Botswana based on psychological effects of organizational restructuring. Selebaleng provided services on employee counseling or outplacement to the Public Sector, NGOs and Private Sector.  He is actively involved in the policy review committees such as the Botswana Counselling Act, Drug and Alcohol Policy, School Health Policy, Top Achievers Program etc.

Sue Webb attended her first IAC (then known as IRTAC) Conference in 1982 in Lausanne and she has been a frequent attender at its conferences since, also serving as Secretary to the IAC Executive Council from 2008 until 2014. She is presently in private practice as a counsellor, supervisor, trainer and consultant, having worked for 29 years as a Counsellor Educator at Massey University, Palmerston North. A former President of the New Zealand Association of Counsellors, she now convenes its Ethics Committee. In addition to ethics, Sue’s professional interests include the social and political context of counselling, counselling and colonisation, the development of the profession, school counselling, and integrating theories into practice. She has a publishing record at home and internationally.

Blythe Shepard, PhD is Canadian of British and Mohawk ancestry and a full professor in Counselling Psychology at the University of Lethbridge.  Her research and teaching foci includes: life-career development and counselling; counsellor training and identity; clinical supervision; and child and adolescent mental health.  She is a recent recipient of the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association’s (CCPA) Professional Contribution Award in recognition of outstanding promotion of the counselling profession in Canada.  She has served on the BC Task Group responsible for the creation of entry to practice competencies for counsellors.  She co-chaired the National Symposium on Counsellor Mobility for three years (2008-2011).  Blythe is currently the President of the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association (CCPA) and continues to advocate for the counselling and psychotherapy profession and the people it serves.